Poems (Chilton, 1885)/Stone for Bread
STONE FOR BREAD.
A hushed and darkened room; within
A dead man lay; the rites begin:
I listened, but I did not hear
The tender words that soothe and cheer
The wounded heart, and bring relief
ln presence of o'er-mastering grief;
But only such as served to shed
Light on the folly of the dead.
No blessed words of hope and cheer
Floated above the dead man's bier:
No veil o'er human weakness thrown—
No bread was given—but only stone.
A dead man lay; the rites begin:
I listened, but I did not hear
The tender words that soothe and cheer
The wounded heart, and bring relief
ln presence of o'er-mastering grief;
But only such as served to shed
Light on the folly of the dead.
No blessed words of hope and cheer
Floated above the dead man's bier:
No veil o'er human weakness thrown—
No bread was given—but only stone.
But in the room methought I saw
The grand expounder of Christ's law,
And heard these whispered words that shed
Bliss on the living and the dead:
"Faith, Hope and Charity, these three;
But the greatest of these is Charity."
The grand expounder of Christ's law,
And heard these whispered words that shed
Bliss on the living and the dead:
"Faith, Hope and Charity, these three;
But the greatest of these is Charity."